The best relaxing, renaming and recreation-ing apps this week

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App roundup
Mac, Apple Watch, iPhone, and iPad. There’s something for everyone this week.
Image: Cult of Mac

This week we fall asleep to relaxing sounds, wake right back up with some crazy drum noises, watch beautifully colored movies, and … rename some files?

Endel: Focus, Sleep, Relax

Endel
I didn’t get past this screen.
Photo: Endel

Endel is an Apple Watch app that generates relaxing sounds to help you sleep, focus or relax. It already exists on the iPhone and iPad, but now you can download a standalone watch version, right from your wrist. I grabbed it to test, but deleted it as soon as I was forced to create an account to use it. Bonus: At least it lets you use the new Sign in With Apple feature from iOS 13.

Price: Free

Download: Endel: Focus, Sleep, Relax from the App Store (iOS)

Fractal Bits

Fractal Bits is a drum-sound generator for your iPad. It works standalone, or as an Audio Unit plugin for other apps, and uses fractal math to come up with endless new drum sounds. These sounds can be tweaked, and locked in, before continuing the exploration. The app also offers MIDI control, to integrate it directly into your setup. Or you can export the sounds to use in hardware drum machines or sample apps

It’s totally amazing.

Price: $1.99

Download: Fractal Bits from the App Store (iOS)

A Better Finder Rename

A better finder rename
It really is better.
Photo: Public Space

The Finder itself has gotten better at renaming things in recent years, but A Better Finder Rename is still better. This app has been around for almost 25 years, and version 11 has been revamped to look great on modern Macs. If you ever wanted to batch rename files, replacing some sections of the names, tweaking others, and maybe treating those files differently based on file type, then you’re in the right place.

Price: $19.99 with free trial and upgrade pricing.

Download: A Better Finder Rename (macOS)

Optimus Player

Optimus Player
Get ready to go wild with Optimus Player.
Photo: Optimus Player

Optimus Player is a video player for the Mac that can play pretty much anything. It is also a first-class Mac app, unlike the capable but clunky VLC Player. It uses AirPlay 2, supports subtitles, and uses the Mac’s own color tools for extra accurate color rendition. It’s also so cheap that you can’t afford not to have it.

Price: $5

Download: Optimus Player (macOS)

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